Nagaland Assembly: MLA flags oil drilling in border belt, DyCM says situation under control

Nagaland MLA Achumbemo Kikon on September 3 raised concerns in the Assembly over alleged oil survey and drilling activities in the Disputed Area Belt (DAB) along the Nagaland-Assam border, while Deputy Chief Minister Yanthungo Patton said the situation in the border area was now under control.

Raising the issue under Rule 54, Kikon said he had received a representation from the Yanmhon Area Public Organisation objecting to alleged oil drilling works by ONGC near Lio Woka Oil, close to Hayiyan village under Bhandari subdivision in Wokha district.

Kikon said the site falls within his constituency and urged the government to ascertain whether the activity had received approval from the Nagaland government. If not, he sought verification of the site by the competent authority and demanded that the ongoing work be kept in abeyance until the matter was resolved under the tripartite MoU between Nagaland, Assam and the Centre concerning the survey, exploitation and extraction of crude oil and other minerals in the disputed belt.

The MLA said the site was around 500 metres from Lio Woka village and alleged that ONGC and other oil companies had started surveys and were identifying possible drilling points in the disputed area.

He expressed concern that continued activities could lead to the extraction of oil deposits that Nagaland claims fall within its jurisdiction.

Kikon also raised the August 25 incident at Mekirang/Negheribil, where villagers from Longayim travelling with rubber saplings supplied by the Rubber Board of India were allegedly stopped at a barricade erected by the Assam Forest Department.

He said the incident highlighted difficulties faced by villagers in accessing the area and alleged that movement and right of way along the border were being obstructed. He also questioned the deployment of security and forest personnel in the DAB and sought to know whether Nagaland’s Forest Department was taking steps to deploy its personnel there.

Responding to the border incidents, Patton said a vehicle carrying rubber saplings to Longayim was stopped at the Assam Forest Department barricade on August 25. A scuffle subsequently broke out after people from the Assam side gathered at the spot, he said.

Border Magistrates from Nagaland and Assam later reached the area and allowed the vehicle to pass after verifying that the saplings were meant for plantation at Longayim village and not at the evicted site, the deputy chief minister said.

Patton said another confrontation occurred on August 26 when people residing near the evicted site gathered at the barricade. Two Naga village leaders were allegedly attacked after being accused of responsibility for the previous day's confrontation, while an office bearer of the Lotha Lower Range Public Organisation was also allegedly assaulted.

The alleged victims were advised to file an FIR, following which a case was registered at Bhandari Police Station on August 27, Patton said.

The Wokha and Golaghat deputy commissioners subsequently held a joint meeting, during which Nagaland conveyed that the movement of Naga villagers and the general public should not be obstructed as the road serves as a lifeline for border villages.

The two administrations agreed to activate the Border Level Peace Committee to improve coordination, maintain peace and prevent further incidents.

“The situation is now under control,” Patton told the House.

Giving the background to the dispute, Patton said a joint eviction drive was conducted at Negheribil/Mekirang on August 8, 2025, during which 205 households were served eviction notices and 146 were evicted. Eviction of the remaining 59 households was kept on hold following a court order.

He said the Golaghat district administration and Assam Forest Department subsequently issued fresh eviction notices to the remaining 59 households. However, the Gauhati High Court, through an order dated August 18, 2026, granted a further 60-day extension.

Patton said the Nagaland government was closely monitoring developments in the disputed belt and coordinating with Assam authorities to prevent further confrontations.

He added that mechanisms were in place to ensure that any future eviction or plantation activity in the disputed area would not be undertaken unilaterally, but through coordination between officials of Nagaland and Assam.